Friday Lunch Break: Mike’s First Prize Frankfurts

Mark McGuire and I walked into Mike’s Frankfurts one day last week and, in our fine journalistic tradition, opened with a stupid question.

“What do you recommend for two first-timers?” I asked the waitress behind the counter.

Maybe I should have taken a closer look at the iconic sign atop the building, which proclaims Mike’s hot dogs to be the “finest ever made” and “first prize.”

Apparently, that was too subtle for me.

“Most people order the hot dogs,” the waitress told me, and so McGuire and I ordered two apiece.

We later learned that we should have asked for dogs “all the way.” That’s the appropriate Mike’s way of asking for two hot dogs with mustard, onions and meat sauce, we later found out from a regular.

No matter. Even after my silly question and clumsy order, the waitress set off to fetch our drinks with a smile.

Mike’s certainly is a greasy spoon to a T, but the place has a way of making everyone feel like a regular. Maybe it’s the counter seating, which I always find particularly inviting when dining solo.

In fact, looking at the breakfast special (eggs, hotcakes, bacon, coffee) for $5.25, I was already envisioning coming back on a Sunday morning with the paper.

On this trip, McGuire and I each had eaten about half a hot dog before he noted, “One probably would have been fine.”

Indeed, unlike Gus’s and Charlie’s, Mike’s hot dogs are full-sized. The other difference is the sauce. Mike’s was a touch hotter than either Gus’s or Charlie’s, though certainly not in a disagreeable way.

Our bill for four hot dogs all the way, two drinks and two small fries was $14.81. Now that is truly “first prize.”